“Bridge Was on Fire, Maybe Burning to the Ground”: $260 Million Also Not Enough to Hose Out the Baltimore Beef Between Lamar Jackson and Ravens, Say NFL Insiders

The Baltimore Ravens fans can breathe a sigh of relief after a tumultuous year with the contract negotiations of their QB Lamar Jackson. Both the team and the QB have finally decided to settle down in terms of the negotiations. Jackson is back to play with the Ravens again, after finalizing a $260 million, $185 million guaranteed five-year contract. While the guaranteed portion might still be less than that of Deshaun Watson’s contract, the final verdict of Jackson’s future in the NFL is in. But with all the drama surrounding the negotiations for almost a year, will it be easy to forget the rough path the franchise had with their 2019 MVP QB?

According to NFL insiders, while the Ravens have successfully secured Jackson to the roster, they feel that the bad blood between the two might still linger around for a while.

Still bad blood between Lamar Jackson and the Ravens?

In a recent episode of Skip and Shannon: UNDISPUTED, they were discussing the recent contract that Lamar Jackson was able to strike with the Ravens. Despite Jackson finally banking the bad, Skip Bayless questioned why the franchise could not come to finalizing a deal before things reached such a climax. They felt that because of the way the situation turned out between Jackson and the Ravens, it will be difficult for them to put their past differences to rest.

Read more: “Hard Not to Get Emotional”: $180 Million Guaranteed for Lamar Jackson Finally Refuels His Fire From Draft Day

Bayless said, “I’m hoping for all involved that they can put it behind them. I’m not so sure Lamar can. Because we talked about this  9000 times on this show. And we both concluded it felt like the bridge was on fire, maybe burning to the ground between these two. What they went through last year was about as ugly as it gets for a former MVP franchise QB versus management.” Bayless seems to point to the fact that things were not smooth sailing between the Ravens and Jackson during their whole contract fiasco. The team also went ahead to place the non-exclusive franchise tag on him, which could have further put stress on their professional relationship.

But despite all the differences, finding common ground and finalizing a deal means that the Ravens can put their QB woes behind them and focus on strategizing game plans for the future.

Action Jackson set to prove his name with the Ravens

With Jackson’s future finally settled, the Ravens will now look forward to utilizing all their offseason moves to further strengthen their overall roster for the upcoming season. Bringing in Odell Beckham Jr means Jackson has a reliable WR to build offensive plays. And their draftee WR Zay Flowers will also look to prove his worth to the franchise. It is interesting to note that we might never know the real reason why other teams backed out from offering a contract to Jackson. The Ravens will look to put all of it behind them. But will it be that easy to put the year-long fiasco to rest that easily?

The franchise also has a new OC in the form of Todd Monken. So ultimately, fans will be waiting in anticipation to see what new exciting plays come from the Ravens now that they have Lamar Jackson retained, and OBJ in the mix as well.

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